The invention relates to a device for facilitating the installation of an in-line device such as a gas consumption meter on the ends of pipes which normally serve to support the device.
Meters, regulators and other devices are often installed in piping systems so that fluid flowing through the pipe passes through the device for measurement, regulation or other action with respect to the fluid. For example, the consumption of heating gas supplied to commercial and residential users is metered by utility companies by the interposition of a gas meter in the pipe that supplies gas to the user.
Typically, a gas supply line enters a residential consumer's house below ground level, and a gas consumption meter is installed in the consumer's basement. The gas supply piping is adapted to receive and support the meter above floor level by providing the piping with spaced, downturned, generally vertically disposed pipe sections terminating in open pipe ends to which spaced gas inlet and outlet openings of the meter are connected so that gas supplied to the consumer through the supply pipe must pass through the meter, which measures the volume of gas consumed by the user for heating, cooking or other purposes.
In cases where the user's gas consumption is relatively high, the gas consumption meters are large devices that can weigh as much as fifty pounds or more. Such large meters are bulky and meter installation is an awkward task, usually requiring the employment of two workers, one of whom lifts and holds the meter while the other worker secures threaded connectors at the inlet and outlet sides of the meter to the open gas pipe ends. When in place, the meter is suspended from the gas supply pipe.
The articulated pipe connector of the present invention makes it a simple job for a single meter installer to put a meter in place without assistance.